The Business of Life

The Real Apocalypse in 2012

2010-01-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

Lately it seems normally credible cable TV channels (History, Biography, CNN, MSNBC, Discovery, and others) have been offering up programs that all take the position that our world will end in 2012. These programs cite the ancient Mayan and Egyptian civilizations as having first put forth such dire predictions. Supporting evidence comes from the obscure quatrains of Nostradamus, and even the Freemasons get to weigh in because of "mysterious" carvings on 16th century Gothic cathedrals in Europe. The various prognosticators say that our world will end due to an alignment of our sun within the "black hole" of the Milky Way, causing massive and cataclysmic destruction... earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, fires, and electromagnetic disruption of all forms of communications. I watched a few of these programs over the holidays and came away with decidedly mixed feelings.

First, I am puzzled at how bereft of sanity we must be to actually place credence in the ability of these sages to forecast our future when most of their age still believed the world was flat! Somehow we should accept a prediction from a civilization that had yet to devise a common method for charting a journey across the English Channel. While they somehow avoided various purges and being burned at the stake by coddling up to royalty with favorable predictions, we should suspend disbelief and agree that their visions of a future 500 years away are highly accurate. Come on, we are only kidding ourselves!

Second, I wonder if some of these ancient civilizations and soothsayers aren't themselves laughing at our gullibility. I wonder if an Egyptian architect wouldn't say, "Hey stupid, there are 2012 steps in the Great Pyramid because it took that many to get from one level to the next." A Mayan chief might say, "Our calendar didn't go beyond 2012 because our carver died and we didn't have a replacement trained." I wonder if one of those "mysterious" Freemason stone-carvers wouldn't say, "Folks I put the lion next to the sheep because I thought it looked good above the door. As far as the scene with the sheep's head in the lion's mouth... well, it's what the lions like to eat." The point is that some of our interpretations are far-fetched and indicative of people with an awful lot of time on their hands. We are supposed to believe that obscure monuments in backwater European towns were built precisely to point to this impending apocalypse. Come on, our search for meaning can't be that far afield can it?

Finally, if the much-heralded Nostradamus were alive today he might well say that we are headed for a catastrophic end at some future date, but I doubt he'd couch his predictions with references to "lakes of fire" and "lions in waiting". Instead of some one-time astrological event being put forth as the impending end of humanity, he might say it's more likely that:

We'll ruin things by paying less attention to our children's education than we do to the next episode of American Idol.
We'll ruin things by mortgaging our future and burdening our children with unconscionable debt in order to sacrifice those same children to prop up corrupt governments.
We'll ruin things by continuing the cycle of generational poverty and having over 50% of children raised in single parent households.
We'll ruin things by so discouraging our children with all manner of greed and selfish behaviors that a lifetime of quiet dignity, honest labor and public service is unthinkable.
We'll ruin things by ignoring all manner of ecological warnings in favor of immediate satisfaction of our wants, leaving our children to face irreversible changes to this delicate planet.
We'll ruin things by engaging in foreign wars that serve to create more hatred and ideological intolerance among children of all nationalities, guaranteeing the continuation of acts of terrorism by the disenfranchised and retaliation by the powerful.

I doubt that Nostradamus would need a single reference to a lake, an animal, a light in the distance, or the alignment of the stars. No, he would simply say that our continued reluctance to create a lasting legacy that protects future generations is the surest ticket to oblivion. We don't need any heavenly crashes to occur when we do such a fine job of screwing things up right here on Earth.

Net Resolutions

2010-01-01T08:38:00.000-08:00

On the first day of the New Year and at the dawn of a new decade no less, I'll propose a few resolutions that I'd like to see both content-providers and consumers alike take to heart about the Internet in 2010. Over the past two years, I have spent a lot of time reading and reflecting on the impact of this www culture, and using that to launch a web-based business venture. An unintended result was the following thoughts about how we might all improve what goes into that electronic filing cabinet and what we choose to do with it.

Here are three things that the connectors/aggregators, content-providers, and advertisers could resolve to do in 2010:

Google/Bing 2.010 - We have billions of web pages covering millions of topics. Probably only several thousand will have any lasting impact or relevance to society. Google should write one of their elegant algorithms to eliminate and permanently bury the junk that proliferates unchecked. Sturgeon's Law says that "90% of everything is crap." If that's really true, or even if you like Pareto's 80-20 rule better, I'm sure that Microsoft could find a way to have some kind of filter on what makes it into search results. If Pareto and Sturgeon are right, it may be no more sophisticated than choosing to ignore 80-90% of what is written, and with those odds you'd probably have as much chance of success as if you went hunting for dairy cows with a machine gun. Let's just agree that if your stuff isn't on the first two or three pages of search results, nobody is looking for you and what you posted is probably not any good.
AOL/Yahoo/MSN 2.010 - The content providers and aggregators should resolve to eliminate content that is clearly a waste of time and responsible for foreigners saying that we are now not only the "ugly Americans" but dumb ones too. We could start by agreeing that every celebretard, fad diet, pet tearjecker, or fringe militia group gets only three articles per year. No exceptions. Just because the web is limitless does not mean it shouldn't have boundaries. Not only is the sheer volume of information daunting, but its overall quality is often suspect. As Clay Shirky posits in his book, Here Comes Everybody, the ability to post content on the Internet has afforded everyone a largely equal voice. Instead of "filter then publish", we have become a "publish then filter" community. Do we really need PopEater, TMZ, FanHouse and a bunch of other purveyors of yesterday's flotsam? Who are these professional bloggers with good pictures and no journalistic gravitas? I can only assume that if some of these editors had been at newspapers and magazines, we would have de-forested North America and Europe long ago.
Advertisers and Analytics 2.010 - Let's face it, some real nut-job websites attract big audiences and lots of "eyeballs" that advertisers covet. I would suggest that some of the idiots wouldn't have an "ad-supported" village to preach to if the advertisers applied better metrics to their spending patterns. Advertisers should resolve to go back to the basics... demographics, psychographics, purchasing histories, societal comparatives... and recognize that it is not how many but whose eyeballs are looking that really matters.

Here are three actions that we consumers should resolve to take in 2010:

Publishing 2.010 - This is no time to be the dumb kid who didn't study but feels compelled to be the first hand up in calculus class. Instead of a few dozen direct witnesses to your stupidity and a few more days of lunchroom ridicule, you could live in the cyber-comedy archives before millions of strangers. If you're going to post something, make sure you have some reasonable purpose and more than a passing hint of expertise. Our society wants desperately to embrace the concept of equality where everyone gets an award, even if we just "show up." Nobody ever gets cut, asked to sit down, or sent home early. Sorry, but that's not reality. Just as you shouldn't mix chemicals without an understanding of chemistry and reactive properties, you probably shouldn't post opinions without an understanding of the factual underpinnings of the subject matter.
Publishing 2.010.1 - A special but important corollary to the above deals with the world of self-published or pay-to-print practitioners. We now have more niche publications, book publishers, online specialty sites, industry blogs, affinity groups, communities, and outlets for our creativity than ever before in history. The bottom line is this. If you can't find someone to read or listen to what you are saying, it likely isn't very good. Paying someone several thousand dollars to publish what you wrote is a true fool's errand. Like the old saying goes, "just because you're standing in a garage doesn't make you a mechanic." Having a book published (especially one you paid for) is no singular indicator of expertise or relevance. I would argue that anyone driven to self-publishing is likely only an expert in an outsized ego with a healthy dose of delusion.
Writing 2.010 - If yur going to writ anething on the internet at lest spell chek it fisrt before postng. Nothing can devalue an opinion quicker than a bunch of misspellings and grammatical errors. The only things that might be worse are the woeful descents into racial and ethnic epithets, often accompanied by profanity and references to various bodily functions. More than anything, these contribute nothing to the collective intelligence or public debate. Frequently, the only revelation is the stupidity shown by the writer. The best way to look at posting any content might be to remember what any good carpenter would say, "Measure twice, cut once."

That's it from here. It's New Years Day and there's football to be watched. If we consumers take up the challenge of being more responsible, we could have a better 'net next year. If the providers take some initiative to drive quality over quantity, we could really have something expansive and worthwhile. Of course, George W. Bush could write his autobiography without any help from Dick Cheney and the Catholic Church could quit being a safe harbor for pedophile priests. Right.

Learning to Change by Sleeping with a Bug

2009-12-31T11:32:00.000-08:00

“If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito.” - Anita Roddick

One could be excused for thinking that a child of Italian immigrants, born in a bomb shelter in the middle of World War II England, would never amount to much. Considering that her parents divorced when she was nine years old and that she subsequently lost her stepfather to tuberculosis only a few years later would seem only to lengthen her odds. Yet by the time of her death in 2007 at the age of 64, Anita Roddick was hailed as a trailblazer in woman-owned businesses and a champion of ethical and environmentally-friendly business practices worldwide. The Prime Minister of England, Gordon Brown, called her an “inspiration and one of the country’s true pioneers.”

Anita Roddick was trained as a teacher but worked for the United Nations, traveling extensively in the Third World. She and her husband, Gordon, owned a hotel and a small restaurant before she founded The Body Shop in 1976, which she said was merely a way to support her two daughters while her husband was away on business in the United States. The Body Shop was one of the first cosmetics companies to prohibit the use of ingredients tested on animals, and Roddick openly promoted fair trade with third world countries. Starting with only 15 products sold from a storefront in Brighton, The Body Shop grew to over 2,000 stores selling 300 branded products by the time it was sold for £652 million to L’Oreal in 2006. It was voted the second-most trusted brand in the U.K. and the 28th-ranked brand in the world. Echoing the sentiments of many entrepreneurs before her, Roddick said in a 1993 interview with Third Way magazine that, “The Body Shop was a series of brilliant accidents… that always caused controversy. We knew about storytelling so all the products had stories. We recycled because we were running out of bottles. It wasn’t a sophisticated plan, it just happened like that.”

Additionally, Anita Roddick was a tireless advocate for the less fortunate in society. In 1990, she founded Children On The Edge in response to the horrific conditions for children in Romanian orphanages. Its mission has grown to be an advocacy for children affected by war, disease, famine and natural disasters throughout the world. Before her death of a massive brain hemorrhage, she fulfilled a promise to leave her estate to various charities on moral grounds.

If perspective is such a linchpin for the other qualities necessary for great relationships, then how can a mosquito shed any light on that? I think what Roddick meant as a takeaway is simply that everyone can make a difference. None of us is too small to impact another’s mood, viewpoint or life as a whole. How we do that is up to us.

We can energize a teenager about to embark on a college journey, or we can fill them with dire warnings, threats and remembrances of their past mistakes. A newlywed can be lifted up by our humorous reflections on marriage and family, or made to suspect their decision by our attitude toward a lifetime of serving someone else. We can educate a business colleague by having an orientation toward sharing and collaboration, or we can demand that they acquiesce to our position by pulling rank. Choices like these abound every day. Usually they are small choices that can have a big and, sometimes, lasting effect.

In my life, I hate to admit, I’ve sucked the life out of some relationships by being aloof, untrustworthy or just plain angry. I know that some friendships were destroyed because I chose to make a difference in the worst way. I needed to win at all costs, and that typically is not a recipe for success with other people. As I have aged and hopefully gained some perspective though, it seems that I get less twisted over the temporary stuff. There are fewer and fewer deal-breakers in my personal life and I’m less likely to burn a bridge than build one. It’s taken a long time, but my perspective is that so little of what we do every day needs to be in a win-lose context. I am not too small to make a difference. That’s a perspective worthy of any mosquito, although I hold out no hope of changing a bug’s life. What I am hoping to continue changing is my own commitment to making a positive difference in the lives of my family and friends.

The Choice is Ours... Dust or Magic?

2009-08-27T17:09:00.001-07:00

Here is another excerpt from my book, Business and Relationships. It's good to have the perspective that we are powerful enough to change ideas and people... for better or for worse, it's our choice.

“An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.” William Bernbach

Bill Bernbach is an icon to anyone who has spent time inside an ad agency. Nearly thirty years after his death in 1982 of leukemia, he still casts a long shadow over legions of copywriters, designers and graphic artists of every stripe. After his passing, Harper’s told its readers he “probably had a greater impact on American culture than any of the distinguished writers and artists who have appeared in the pages of Harper’s in the last 133 years.” Bernbach occupied the Number 1 spot on the Advertising Age list of the most influential advertising people of the 20th century. Quite a resume for a hardscrabble kid from the Bronx who grew up during the Great Depression.

Bernbach began his career as a copywriter and moved through a succession of New York ad agencies before founding the famed Doyle Dane Bernbach shop in 1949. He was a conservative in a world of flash and cutting-edge, yet his style nurtured some of the industry’s best creative talents and most memorable campaigns. He emphasized a low-key and focused management culture, but was fearless about editing and demanded craftsmanship. Under his leadership, DDB achieved $1.2 billion in billings yet was always grounded in the belief that the buying public had to be respected and that good advertising could communicate how products related to their users. From the Volkswagen “Think Small” campaign and the Avis “We Try Harder” series to a character as memorable as Life Cereal’s “Mikey”, Bernbach is remembered for his tendency toward offbeat themes combined with flawless execution.

Could there be anything more counterintuitive than an advertising guy showing us something about perspective? Having perspective is about nurturing… thoughts, ideas, and people. Perspective is about having a sense of timing and an eye for value. Perspective is about conveying truth without malice or hidden agendas. Perspective is about asking why and seeking to find some common ground. Perspective is about having a sense for possible outcomes of your actions. All of those sure sound like what a good agency leader would do with his clients and employees.

When an idea for a new business venture rubs up against you and it comes from your passionate but naïve twenty-something daughter, what do you do? When your wife has an idea to enter a sewing contest or take up a course of study for an obscure professional certification, what do you say? When your aging mother expresses a desire to take a walking tour of Rome, how do you respond? I think a sense of perspective allows for honest thoughts and emotions to come through in a way that earns respect and inspires trust. Perspective takes the long view and puts your subject’s best interests at the heart of your consideration. Perspective isn’t about who wins necessarily, it’s about everyone getting a chance to participate.

At the end of the day, decisions have to be made. But they can be made with a sensitivity and calmness that fosters confidence and a willingness to share more ideas and opinions in the future. I’m far from perfect in that regard and I’ve shut down more than my share of conversations with the “holier-than-thou”, stern-jawed approach to dialogue. I still think my kids tread on eggshells about sensitive subjects but I keep working to have a better sense of what’s really important. I try to remind myself that great relationships always show perspective, and that I should use my talents to create more magic not more dust.

Frankly, I can’t remember anyone I ever cared about saying they “wish our relationship had more residue in it.” Great relationships are about some sense of continuing magic, discovery, wonder, and interest in your partner. Perspective nurtures it and allows it to keep growing. Without perspective, relationships will have no talent to rub against and will just turn to dust.

Jack Bauer to the Rescue... of Our Economy.

2009-04-20T16:39:00.000-07:00

OK. We're now deep into yet another season of cliff-hangers where Jack Bauer solves a basketful of crises in 24 hours. All this and he usually has time to spark a new female love interest, bury a few trusted colleagues, and be a guinea pig for more experimental drugs than Jerry Garcia. I think it's time we put him on the case that would really test his patience and his tolerance. That's right... let's get Jack to fix our economy! Before you dismiss this as mere ramblings of a frustrated entrepreneur, I think he has seven major characteristics that bode well for his success. So here goes...

Jack Bauer is not afraid to take on the entrenched establishment and challenge all authority. Do you really think that after emerging from three years in a Chinese prison, holding a U.S. President hostage, sacrificing his girlfriend, or torturing countless terrorists that Jack would be intimidated by Ken Lewis? Bob Nardelli would return to Home Depot as a staffer at the paint desk if Jack "suggested" it was best for Chrysler. We need more than Tim Geithner jabbing at his former Wall Street buddies, we need Jack to deliver the kind of shot-to-the-shorts that leaves the under-performers on their knees.
Jack Bauer is always committed to the cause. You never doubt where his motivation lies. He is agnostic when it comes to political agendas and ruthless when it comes to accomplishing the task. Jack would never play handball with his adversaries, unless he had a grenade on the court. Could you imagine him rescuing the boys at AIG and then standing by impotently while they threw a lavish holiday party for clients and friends? I doubt if the inner sanctum at GM would dare venture out in public if they knew Jack was managing their bailout and eventual bankruptcy. We lowly taxpayers and small business owners would need only watch the nightly news to see the miscreants quaking at the mere mention of his next move.
Jack Bauer takes great personal risk and isn't afraid to get hurt. The Washington crowd specializes in damage control, desperately trying to protect their best interests and campaign donors. Jack wouldn't be afraid to lose some share value (and maybe even some teeth) to expose the moribund business models and incestuous labor-management relations at our automobile companies. Jack would have said "NO" to the first bank bailout and let the markets absorb the losses and rectify the poor judgements of players who have already had too much time on stage. These micro-achievers who found ways to subvert the system and play outside the established yard would have encountered an adversary who was fearless when it comes to pain and entirely ready to do the right thing. What a change from the expediency of Paulsen, Pelosi, Bernanke and Frank!
Jack Bauer knows that collateral damage is a consequence of action. Think about it. If you are any kind of living, breathing decision-maker, you know that sacrifices will be made right along with your decision to act. Jack has a fractious relationship with his daughter who blames him for at least a few deaths of loved ones. Presidents are exiled or killed, likeable servants of the cause are imprisoned, CEOs are stripped of their dignity and their rights, and numerous government minions awaken to a new reality when Jack is on the scene. What a refreshing change from the endless hand-wringing and angst-ridden warnings of the overpaid pundits on CNN, MSNBC and Fox.
Jack Bauer gets others involved but knows what to share. Throughout every season, I always had the sense that Jack was the only one who really had the plan. He sees around corners better than the latest Pentagon contraption but never lets you know exactly what is there. He is the essence of a leader in times of crisis. Be honest, but not to a fault. If Jack were managing this showdown, you can bet that Joe Lunchbucket would know what's going on but maybe not what's next. Jack wouldn't be running to every photo-op to make the 6:30 network news broadcast. No, he'd have his team working hard under his direction and each one would have a good part (but not all) of the story. The only one holding all the cards is the leader. Why? Because he also has all the responsibility.
Jack Bauer never assumes it's really over. It's really quite silly that we already have policy wonks running around pontificating that the crisis is over. Can you really believe the near-collapse of our financial system will be entirely reversed inside of six months with these guys running point? Only Jack would see all the implications of these sophisticated derivatives, hedge funds, default swaps, and tax shelters. Heck, he's the guy who knew that the computer virus directed at our power grid was tied to some industrialists who possessed bio-weapons aimed at major U.S. cities. Jack is always prepared for that next shoe, and it never drops on his head. Don't you think he'd already be taking steps to forestall deflation, another oil price run-up, further real estate collapse or foreign divestiture of U.S. securities? Jack knows it's game on, not game over as some of our short-sighted managers would have us believe.
Jack Bauer gets it done in 24 hours. OK, this one I'll concede as probably out of even Jack's capacity. But wait, this is a guy who diverted a nuclear weapon, reprogrammed a super-computer network, saved hundreds of refugee children, romanced the Secretary of State's daughter, successfully battled infections from a variety of nerve-jangling, brain-altering drugs and bugs, and did it all in 24 hours! Do you think that CDOs are more terrifying than WMDs? Any chance that his sheer force of will scares the pants off fat-bellied, golfing CEOs? Anybody want odds that his commitment to driving real change would actually produce results a lot faster than our Washington broker-dealers? Maybe he wouldn't get it done in 24 hours but he'd be a lot closer than our current bunch of posers and actors.

So, there it is. A brief run through Jack Bauer's qualifications to get us out of this financial minefield created by the Wall Street and Washington collaborators. If you don't think he's up to the task... how about Jack Welch? Or Jack Black? The bottom line is this, if you think our managers in Washington can really lead with courage and proactively guide us out of this swamp, then you don't know Jack. Too bad he's just a figment of a writer's imagination and an actor's portrayal. In that respect alone, he could be a politician.

Cover Up 'Cause the Storm is Coming!

2008-12-31T09:10:00.000-08:00

The other night a friend of mine asked for my opinion on the current recession and when it might end. We had a lively discussion and ultimately found out that he is a true Pollyanna optimist and I tend more toward Scrooge. Basically, I think the saying "in for a penny, in for a pound" applies here... and we are going to get pounded. Here's what I think is coming up in America.

I think this recession will persist through 2010. Yes, 2010! Maybe even early 2011... We have yet to feel the impact of the 2nd wave of mortgage defaults (ARMs and "exotics" reset early next year) nor the 3rd wave anticipated to begin in Q3 2009 (good people with good credit and no jobs, deflated housing value, and no further access to capital). Housing prices will remain low, inhibiting many consumers' ability to refinance or reinvest. Consumer credit will remain tight to non-existent for all but the very best "risks."

Small businesses are failing at a rapid rate due to lack of access to credit, and the ones that survive will experience the "deflation" of pricing (and therefore profits) caused by too much money (thank the bailouts and economic stimulus packages) flooding the markets. Layoffs will extend into previously "safe" occupations (law firms, hospitals, schools, local government and non-profits among others). Employees who are "left alone" will see wage stagnation or even cuts, as employers won't need to pay as much when available talent is everywhere.

The dollar will become weaker against foreign currencies (again due to flooding the economy with bailout / stimulus money) and our trade deficit will grow. As our money becomes "less attractive" in foreign markets, we will see hard assets (office buildings, shopping malls, real estate, apartment complexes and entire companies) purchased by foreign investors... often at fire sale prices. The NYSE will likely not exceed 10,000 during this period. City and state governments will be forced to cut services and employees, and some may even vanish in a cloud of bad debt and lower tax revenues. The intertwined systems of the world's economies will prevent any one nation (i.e the U.S.) from dragging the rest of the world out of this mess early.

Sorry to be pessimistic but this is the natural extension of the failure of "good sense" in our financial markets and then an ill-advised "rush to triage" those failed businesses that perpetrated this fraud. The survivors will find that "Depression-era" economics and disciplines (savings as a foundation, limited consumer debt, delayed gratification) as well as "keeping your powder dry" so as to capitalize on bargains and opportunities are those things that will create prosperity after this recession fades. Of course I'll be completely wrong if we have some kind of really dramatic "stimulus" like a big, big war that allows Ford and GM to make plenty of tanks ( the kind that shoot AND guzzle fuel). As bleak as my outlook may be... that would be far worse.

Now Is No Time to Pile Up Debt

2008-12-29T13:13:00.000-08:00

“Bad debt is sacrificing your future day needs for present day desires.” - Suze Orman

Suze Orman is one of the most popular and respected personal financial advisors in America today and her show on CNBC is watched by more people on a weekly basis than any other of its kind. Orman grew up in Chicago as the child of working-class Russian immigrant parents and after losing money due to bad investments in the stock market, decided to become an account executive with Merrill Lynch. Years later, she rose to become a Vice President with Prudential Bache and ultimately found her voice as a writer and TV personality. Orman later served as director of her own financial planning firm, resigning when her writing career took off. She has written six best-selling books, including The Road to Wealth and Women and Money: Owning The Power To Control Your Destiny and is a highly sought after speaker on the lecture circuit.

She writes a regular column for Oprah Winfrey’s magazine and over 1 million people downloaded her latest book when it was offered free for 33 hours on Winfrey’s web site. Suze Orman is a two-time winner of the Daytime Emmy Awards, the most successful fund-raiser in the history of public television, and in 2008 was selected by Time Magazine as one of the most influential people in the world.

It would be easy to interpret Orman’s quote as simply that of a financial advisor with a fairly conservative approach to the market. In fact, she has frequently been criticized for being too simplistic. For me though, I think the quote is more complex and especially relevant to our most important relationships. I know I piled up a lot of bad debt when I let my immediate desires outweigh the long-term health of my relationships with those closest to me. I promised to be home right after work only to accept an invitation for “a few drinks”, usually not calling home to communicate and frequently arriving way too late and not in any condition for dinner with my family. Everyone suffered and unkept promises turned into a decided lack of trust in what I said I would do. It was particularly hard on my children. Morning golf rounds turned into late afternoon arrivals home because it was too important to continue rehashing the day with my buddies. Even something as simple as sharing the excess family money only after my needs had been taken of, created more cracks in relationships that were most dear. I nearly lost any long-term value because of my focus on short-term gratification.

About a half-dozen years ago, the light bulb finally went on. I needed to adjust my perspective and place it squarely behind the relationships with family and very close friends. Today, I might be accused of being a homebody or, maybe worse, boring but I’d rather make an investment that slowly but surely appreciates than continually seek the quick hit. Having that perspective means that I’m in favor of taking a long-term approach in my most personal relationships, revealing more of myself and helping others instead of being the quick-witted prankster or shallow conversationalist. While I don’t think many of my friends consider me boring, I do know they consider me patient and supportive. To me, the security of knowing that my daughter actively seeks my advice, my teenage sons enjoy spending time together even when it doesn’t involve me spending money or my wife says “I love you” in the middle of a Saturday afternoon in our kitchen is worth so much more than the best joke I ever heard in a bar. Knowing that my friends feel good about confiding some tough stuff about their lives is so much more invigorating than discussing the latest starlet’s sexcapades over too many beers.

Suze Orman’s quote may be simplistic investment advice but it’s right on the money when it is applied to our most important interpersonal relationships. Bad debt is simply that… bad debt. It happens when we can’t apply a sense of perspective to the present situation. Many analysts believe that lack of perspective created the present housing and foreclosure crisis. I believe, for me at least, that a far more damaging home foreclosure crisis would occur under my roof if I lose the perspective that it makes no sense to pile up bad debts chasing after momentary satisfaction. I’m in this for long-term appreciation and I hope you are too.

Beyond the Bricks and Mortar

2008-12-09T05:39:00.000-08:00

“You can design and create and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.” - Walt Disney

To read Walt Disney’s biography is, to say the least, humbling. The man must have had at least a few clones to help with all that innovation. Disney got his start in the 1920’s drawing and producing short-subject cartoons for a theatre in Kansas City. He moved to Hollywood and founded the company that would eventually become Walt Disney Studios. Throughout the ‘30s and ‘40s, Disney revolutionized the animation business and introduced sound accompaniment with such memorable characters as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Snow White and Dumbo. He expanded into feature films, immediately producing such classics as Fantasia and Bambi and eventually winning 26 Academy Awards in his career. As if that weren’t enough, he created such live-action feature films as Treasure Island, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and The Parent Trap. Seemingly never at rest, Disney produced The Wonderful World of Disney which became a Sunday night appointment for millions of Americans in the early days of color television. As if that weren’t enough, Disney built the first grand-scale amusement park called Disneyland and was the Head of Pageantry for the 1960 Winter Olympics. That’s what I call non-stop achievement, packed into a life that was cut short by lung cancer in 1966.

What is most revealing to me about Walt Disney’s life is his love of people. Many of his achievements were acknowledged as collaborative, with a loyal group of associates and employees who dearly loved him. When he originally sketched out Disneyland, he envisioned it as a place where his employees could be with their children. He wanted a train to surround the park because it evoked memories of entertaining his daughter and her friends. To Walt Disney, the awards, accolades, possessions and recognition meant nothing without people around to share the joys. For him, having perspective is all about remembering that it’s people not things that matter most.

I know that I frequently get caught up in the possession trap and forget the people who make all the striving worthwhile. What good is a brand new Lexus if you don’t have any passengers? Isn’t that big screen pretty blank without someone by your side on the couch? Winning that big contract or getting that great job seems sort of hollow without anyone to celebrate your brilliance. Losing a parent or suffering through a debilitating illness is all the more devastating with no close friends to share the weight. No matter the circumstance, good or bad, people make it better.

Recognition, however, is only the first step toward change. What do we do now? Well, for me it’s a constant challenge to remember that life is all about people. My perspective is to totally immerse myself in those relationships that really matter. I may not always, or even frequently, succeed but I will never stop trying. No matter how difficult the person or situation, if it’s worth having it’s worth working for. I want to take the long view and look for real value, not pick through the minutiae creating mountains from molehills. My perspective is to have a vibrant, loving and respectful relationship with my daughter regardless of her independent streak and know-it-all demeanor. I want to confer true value on my friends and business partners, conveying a sense of respect and honor even in difficult times. I want to validate my wife and our partnership even as we face daunting financial troubles or issues with our children. These are real world decisions that we can make every day and there are many others that will enhance your long-term orientation and perspective. It really is all about your people and the fanciest bricks, wood, leather, wool or electronic circuitry will never change that. They might be “in addition to” but never “instead of” if you want to live an abundant, fulfilling life. Walt Disney knew that and I am forever trying to learn it.

Looking Through Your Customers' Eyes

2008-10-24T07:33:00.000-07:00

Following is another excerpt from my forthcoming book, The Business of Relationships. It deals with one of the most important qualities of successful long-term relationships of every sort. Having perspective is key to achieving balance and a sense of purpose in your relationships. This quote from Tom Peters offers a sound business principle that can be easily adapted to your personal relationships as well. I hope you enjoy it...

“The challenge is to view every element of every operation through the customer's lens, to constantly attempt to redefine each element of the business in terms of the customer's perceptions.” - Tom Peters

Tom Peters is an author and consultant who became one of the first business guru-celebrities with the publication of his book In Search of Excellence in 1982 followed by a series of PBS programs featuring him as host. His early career included stints with the Department of Defense and as a senior White House drug abuse advisor during the Nixon administration. He worked as a management consultant wih McKinsey & Company, eventually becoming a partner before leaving to form his independent practice in 1981. Peters is the author of 14 best-selling books including Thriving on Chaos, The Pursuit of WOW!, Leadership and The New World of WOW. He still maintains an active speaking and writing regimen and, while previous works emphasized empowerment and problem-solving methodologies, his recent books emphasize personal responsibility as a core trait for surviving in the new economy.

Peters was a dynamic presenter and proponent of the 'quality' initiatives of the early 1980's and his first book certainly is grounded in that philosophy. To have a quote that recognizes the importance of viewing all your operations through the customer's eyes and experiences certainly is not surprising. In fact, the customer-centric or customer-intimate model is even today one of the three organizational models or stances (operational efficiency and innovation are the others) that businesses espouse. It is also not too difficult for me to see how this customer-intimate model can also apply to relationships.

Think of those important people again... your kids, spouse, colleagues, parents, friends, lovers and partners. They are your customers. In every sense of the word, they are consumers and, hopefully, repeat buyers as well. They consume what you have to offer. So what is it that you're offering? What is your 'business' providing to your 'customers'? Is it understanding and compassion? Is it empathy and assurance? Is it support and love? Or is it indifference and judgmentalism? Is it blame and criticism? Is it anger and withdrawal? Does your business function in a way that makes your customers want to return?

We could fill shelves with all the books written recently about the new power of consumers. Take their central ideas and they all say the same thing - The Customer is Number One! Look at your important relationships the same way. Peters says to look “through the customer's lens” and “redefine each element of the business.” I need to look inward and make sure that what I'm offering puts my customer first . I have to be committed to the extra effort. It doesn't mean that I'm a pushover, wimp, doormat or milk-toast but I have to get outside of myself to make sure my customers are happy. It certainly doesn't mean that my 'return policy' has no boundaries but I must be sensitive in dealing with issues that are important to them. If your customers are important, that's what you do.

The old saying goes, “It's a lot easier to sell more to an existing customer than to find a new one.” I know that I struggle daily to put my most important 'customers' first but I sure don't want to have to hunt for new ones either. So, for me, I'll try to take a few minutes to productively work through a teenager's tantrum. I'll listen empathetically to my wife instead of short-circuiting conversation to diagnose and fix what I think is the problem. I'll offer support before advice to a colleague who is going through a divorce. As Tom Peters emphasizes personal responsibility being critical to success in the new economy, it should also be key to personal relationships. Hopefully, it will be a key perspective for you as well.

Haste Makes Waste: Old Advice, New Application

2008-10-03T07:13:00.000-07:00

This past week, I took some time to consider the broader implications of the bailout bill that passed the Senate in an end-run vote on Wednesday night. Basically our Senators, knowing that approval in their chamber was a foregone conclusion, decided to sweeten the bill rejected on Monday by the House in order to entice Representatives to pass it the second time around. It was also a bold-faced attempt to pressure legislators to pass the band-aid bailout quickly to avoid dire consequences in the markets. I believe that I can now comment on some of the developments with a little perspective gained through reflection on this complex issue.

First, I think it is foolish to assume that we are at the gates of hell and must do something - ANYTHING - to avoid certain disaster. It is true that banks' balance sheets are choking on bad debt, it's true banks are not lending each other (and us too) any money, and it's true that our financial markets are influencing those across the world. At the same time, however, start-up community banks are proliferating, offering commercial and residential financing at aggressive rates to qualified customers. Bad banks (WaMu, Wachovia) and investment houses (Lehman, Bear Stearns) are being acquired by good ones (JP Morgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo). Unemployment remains manageable, inflation is in check and major economic indicators are stable. This sense of time running out is foolish. This is a problem that developed slowly and a comprehensive solution cannot be crafted overnight. As my grandmother often said, "If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?"

Second, to sweeten the bill with incentives like raising the FDIC deposit limits, adding tax breaks and including various pet programs is insulting to the American people and a denigration of the importance of this legislation. The add-ons provide no real benefits to the ordinary citizen or small business and increase the total cost of this bailout by almost 22%! This is truly "putting lipstick on a pig." Lest Senator McCain think about weighing in, this is not a comment on your choice for Vice President.

Third, there is broad acknowledgement that this is not a good plan but it is merely "the best we have." Wait a minute! Let's not forget that this is essentially the solution put forward by an Administration that gave us the crisis in the first place due to lax oversight and an emphasis on artificially inflating home values and overheating the market. It is the plan of an ultimate Wall Street insider and an academic given to comparisons with the Great Depression. It is the plan of an Administration that took a budget supplus of over a half-TRILLION dollars and turned it into a massive deficit in less than 36 months! It is also the plan that has been rejected by over 200 prominent economists in an open letter to the Treasury Secretary. It is a plan that ignores the recommendations of former high-level government and industry leaders.

Finally, there is no shortage of good ideas in the arena if we would only take the time to listen and build coalitions and consensus. George Soros, the billionaire investor and currency trader, says that an effective plan must address root problems in the housing market and stimulate appreciation, and this plan does not. Yale University economists have floated a plan to refinance mortgages for EVERY owner-occupied dwelling (not just those in foreclosure / pre-foreclosure) at a low-fixed rate backed by the government at far less cost than the bailout bill. Still other economists believe that the market can correct itself without any massive government intervention. They acknowledge that we must do SOMETHING to shore up the short-term lending that is the lifeblood of small businesses and large corporations alike but it falls far short of this rescue mission to nowhere. In fact, a simple solution may be to invest in these institutions through stock and warrant purchases and allow them to treat and/or dispose of these distressed assets in the normal course of business as values improve and markets recover.

America does not need a rush to judgment and a knee-jerk plan. We need the best and most diverse minds in government and the private sector to craft a comprehensive and workable plan to resolve the immediate circumstances and plan for the long-term health of our economy. We need to do this on an aggressive timetable with a great sense of urgency. We do not need to "blow up the dam" because a few boats sank on the lake. Unfortunately, by the time you read this we may have done just that. And our haste will surely make waste.

Steven Jobs On Perspective: Thoughts for Better Relationships

2008-09-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of writing a book that uses quotes from famous business leaders to provide an opportunity for me to reflect on how these may apply to our most important relationships. I have long thought that these leaders, with real, tangible and significant achievements, are often ignored while we search for the deeper implications of every utterance from the latest "flavor-of-the-month" movie star, musician or athlete. From time to time, I may post an installment dealing with a favorite quality of good relationships. Following is a quote from Steven Jobs that I believe illustrates well the value of having perspective in all of our relationships.

“Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.” - Steven Jobs

Talk about perspective! If any of my readers need a quick primer on Steven Jobs, here it is. Jobs is a product of the California public school system and a college dropout to boot. He co-founded and is today the Chairman and CEO of Apple Inc. He was smart enough to recognize that the company needed outside expertise when he recruited John Sculley from Pepsi in 1983 to be his CEO by asking him, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want to change the world?” He was tough enough to take back his company in a boardroom coup in 1997. Jobs' second reign at Apple started with a lot of fear as employees saw projects and colleagues eliminated but has steadily grown into respect and even reverence for his visionary leadership. His continuous improvement of the Mac, coupled with the humorous and creative TV commercials slamming the hapless PC, cemented his place as a hero to computer users everywhere. If that wasn't enough, he revolutionized consumer electronics and music distribution with the introduction of the iPod and iTunes and served up a must-have cell phone with a premium price in the iPhone. I have a feeling he is not even close to being done changing the world.

The perspective of “remembering I'll be dead soon” helps Jobs obviously in not getting trapped into assigning outsized relevance to transitory business conditions. I think it can also have significance in our relationships if we examine it more closely. When we take it apart, there is an overwhelming sense of perspective that we can use everyday with everyone we truly care for.

The whole prospect of our death is extremely powerful. It is the great equalizer and the in-your-face reality of all of our lives. We alternatively ignore it early in life and fear it as we get older. But what if that prospect of death was a motivator? What if we used our inevitable death to secure and anchor our relationships? Would we have a greater sense of urgency to share of ourselves with those who matter most? Would the difficult conversations actually take place? Would the praise and admiration flow more freely and unconditionally? Would smiles be more frequent and celebrations not be reserved for special occasions? Would advice not be laced with criticism and empathy be more apparent? I say ”Yes” to all of those and more.

It is an old cliche but living like today is your last really puts things in perspective. Not every choice is a big choice in that context. Priorities become more clear. This is not to say that life has to be a ponderous journey with continual rankings and limited spontaneity. What I think it brings into focus is the vitally important relationships we have with other people. Nothing is more sacred or more important. We can not neglect them and put it off for tomorrow. Whether it is a sibling, parent, spouse, child, co-worker, lover or friend, human interaction and reverence for each other is what really matters. Practice your concern for others as if today was the last day you'd be around. It won't always work but it's at least worthy of your best effort. That, after all, would be a big choice.

A New Kind of Pawn Shop? That's Our Government.

2008-09-25T11:42:00.001-07:00

Is it possible that our Federal Government, in a mad rush to stop the bleeding on Wall Street, is actually reversing the age-old concept of a pawn shop? Pawn shops have been around at least since the pharaohs in Egypt and they operate on a pretty simple principle. You have a need for some quick cash and have something of value to put up as collateral. The pawn shop owner agrees to lend you some cash based on a fractional or discounted value of your item (gold watch, golf clubs, diamond ring etc...) assuming you pay it back in the agreed upon timeframe. If you don't, the pawn shop owner can sell your collateral for whatever the market will bear. It's ALWAYS more than what you received as a loan because that's the only way the owner makes any money and it makes the risk worthwhile.

Now let's take a look at the current machinations in Washington. A bloated and distressed CEO from a Wall Street investment bank walks into the government pawn shop looking for a loan to keep his company afloat. Under his arm is a bundle of mortgage-backed securities that no one else will buy for a price even close to what he needs to meet payroll. After very little discussion the government pawn shop owner agrees to pay the CEO far more than what the current market says these securities are worth. What's more the pawn shop owner doesn't really even have a say in how the CEO might use or repay the loan! And even more incredible, the next CEO through the door may not get the same deal for the same collateral because it all depends on when he gets in line! To top it all off, the pawn shop owner is already upside down on a number of other bad bets and is sweating bullets that this investment somehow appreciates and the market comes back!

I know it's a pretty simplistic way to look at this deepening crisis and I'm certainly no ostrich when it comes to taking action. But isn't it about time that we quit rewarding blatant greed and stupidity? Popular wisdom will say that there are some companies that are just too big to fail. I say that's a cop-out. There have been shake-outs, corrections and bubbles that burst ever since we've had commerce. This is a function of scale... pure and simple. And it scares us to contemplate the failure of venerable investment banks and insurance companies. But the fact is these companies violated every principle known to even a college freshman sweating through Economics 101. Namely, leverage must be managed, markets are cyclical and no investment goes up forever.

So, what is the solution? Far be it from me to pretend to be smarter than all the caretakers of our government pawn shop, but here are a few ideas:

Make sure we get a strong position on the board of every company that accepts a loan and be an activist (maybe even majority) shareholder demanding accountability.

Fire the leaders and their lackeys who put the company into "receivership" requiring such a loan and attendant outside oversight.

Recognize that the real turnaround pros don't live in Washington and use the bully pulpit and clout as the "new sheriff" to bring in proven business fixers. If you want to make a better mousetrap, it's doubtful that the mice will tell you how.

Be prudent yet ruthless in your expectations that this "loan" will be repaid with interest and it will reflect the severity of the mistakes that put us here in the first place.

Take care of the everyday workers who kept their noses to the grindstone and did their best to help the company survive. They should not be collateral damage sacrificed at the altar of greed.

I have been fortunate to enjoy a varied business career. In all of my experiences, however, I haven't seen such a rush to compensate irrational behavior and incomprehensible arrogance. If the government wants to be a pawn shop fine... but be the best pawn shop ever. Tough negotiation of value, aggressive repayment terms and heavy oversight needs to be hallmarks of our pawn shop. To do anything less is a sure way to have a storefront full of loser items and bad debts.